Constitutional Affairs Committee

Rt Hon Jack Straw, Leader of the House will be giving evidence to the Constitutional Affairs Committee on the 15 May 2007 on the topic of House of Lords Reform.

In a historic vote in the House of Commons on the 7 March 2007, MPs backed a predominantly or wholly elected Upper House. However, there are many outstanding issues to be resolved before reform can proceed, including the type of elections, the duration of terms and the powers of a predominantly elected Second Chamber. The Constitutional Affairs Committee has taken a continuing interest in this major area of constitutional reform and, as well as taking evidence on the Government's intentions from Jack Straw, intends to take further evidence and issue a report.

Rt Hon Alan Beith, Chairman of the Committee, said:

"Although there will be informal discussion between the party leaderships, authoritative work will need to be done on behalf of the House by the Constitutional Affairs Committee. Only the broadest outlines of how an elected Second Chamber will function and will relate to the Commons have so far been sketched out and there are many more key issues to be considered before such an important constitutional change can take place."